Haru no Seppen
by Kyrastri
Summary: A somewhat deranged first attempt at a proper oneshot. Horrid romance meets somewhat illusional fantasies.


Haru no Seppen

**A/N:** I'm putting the other stories on hiatus; I have exams and then camp straight after. This is my first romance, so please take it easy on me pl0x. Enjoy, and R&R!! :D

**Disclaimer: In no way possible do I own Maplestory. Nexon does. And the lyrics in the story do not belong to me either(It's not the full song btw). Thank Mohombi. ;D**

Hello. My name is Krystal, a level 132 bishop, and this is my story of a first love….

He didn't look anything like what I had expected. His raven black hair, glimmering green eyes; I would never forget them, not even for the world. His smile was dazzling, and whenever I was with him, even for that short time, I felt that we were in a separate little world, a world free of pain and suffering.

I had just maxed Genesis, and posted a notice on the guild bulletin requesting for a long-term himes* partner. It took a while before finally I received his reply. His name was Joshua Minimashi, and he was a 16X Dark Knight. We exchanged a few conversations and eventually he agreed to meet me in Zipangu.

The day straight after was when his flight landed, and it was also the first day of spring, after winter. Like a sleeping flower just waiting to bloom. I went back to my favorite place in all of Zipangu; the little secluded hill just behind the famous Mushroom Shrine. It had the best views of Mt. Matsji, along with the cherry blossom forest. I was sitting under a large Cherry Blossom tree, nibbling away at the popular tri-colored delicacy known as Dango. The fragrant wind swept over the forest, and towards the Forbidden Shrine, causing my golden brown hair to flutter. Digging into my pack, I retrieved a light blue flower hair pin and used it to hold my side-fringe back.

The Forbidden Shrine. I shuddered as the memories of my best friend flooded back into my mind. I shook my head. _She wouldn't want me to feel like this._ I thought firmly to myself. I was about to finish off my Dango when I felt someone- or some_thing_ tap me on my shoulder. I screamed in shock, and dropping my Dango, I took out my Elemental Staff 1 and had a Holy Arrow ready to be fired as I leapt up.

"H-Hey!" The boy with the Fairfrozen slung across his back held his arms up as he leapt back."Don't kill me Krystal!"

I stopped abruptly, before raising my staff again."How do you know my name?" I asked, still pointing the Holy Arrow at his head.

"I'm in your guild, Josh! I'm the person who accepted to be your training partner!" he answered.

"Oh…" I dropped my staff down as the Holy Arrow vanished. Then the wave of realization hit me."OH MY GOD!! I'M SO SORRY!!" I spluttered out.

"Don't worry about it, though it isn't every day that my training partner tries to kill me," Josh laughed lightly. "So when do you want to go to Himes? Tonight or tomorrow?"

Himes. The Forbidden Shrine. A thousand memories rushed through me at that moment. "I guess tonight." I tried to sound as confident as possible, but I was pretty sure that what came out of my mouth was more along the lines of, "I guekk tonikgt".

Josh smiled. "Tengu got your tongue?" he asked.

I shook my head and plopped back down, my face buried in my knees as I remembered how I saw her body… All torn up… I closed my eyes and then everything flooded back.

_(Flashback)_

_ "Ayliiin!!!" I called out, clutching the bag of take-away ramen. "I know you told me I wasn't supposed to be here at night but I brought the ramen you wanted- Aylin?" I pushed through the pine trees, calling her name. Then I burst into the clearing. "Aylin? Aylin where are yo-" I cut off as I saw a feminine ghost wearing a kimono. It floated by with a graceful air, its glittering blue eyes looking side by side. Until it saw me, that was. Once it laid eyes on me, the pupils turned into a hellish red, and shock ran through my mind. It opened its mouth to a blood-curling shriek and soon its kin had surrounded me. I placed the ramen on the ground and took out my Evil Tails. I knew it wasn't much, but I would rather die fighting than give up. I opened up a way by blasting aside a few of the ghosts that surrounded me with Shining Ray, before bolting straight through, to see.._

_ Aylin. But some things weren't right- her face… It was so pale. Then I looked down, and I had to fight down the urge to be sick. Her armor had been torn right through; blood stained her hands. Her jet black hair had been soaked with her own blood, and it sprawled out in a tangled mess. What could have done this much damage? Then I remembered the ghosts. I spun around, and saw that they were advancing, their crimson eyes piercing into me. I held out my Evil Tails, and pointed it up before bringing it down and yelling,"Magic Guard!" A transparent barrier blocked the two of us from the ghosts like a bubble. I stood there, panting, when I felt something tug my hand. It was Aylin!"What happened?" I asked, turning to face her."I thought Erikk was with you?_

_ "He abandoned me." Aylin coughed out blood."He bolted as soon as the Dreamy Ghosts," she gestured to the ghosts in the kimonos "Started attacking him. That idiot." She laughed feebly._

_ "Don't worry, you're going to make it." I said confidently, digging in my pack for a nearest town scroll. But when I was going to take the seal off to activate it, her hand stopped me._

_ "There's no point, I've already lost too much blood," Aylin coughed again."All I ask of you is to take me back to LightReign's headquarters. And to take this." She pointed to her elemental staff 1. I nodded solemnly as she pressed the button on her PDA, and soon a light enveloped us both. It wasn't harming, it actually felt kind of good. The warm sensation ended when we landed in the lobby of the headquarters of the adventurer guild LightReign._

_ "Bye…" Aylin's voice trailed off as her hand went limp in mine._

_ "No!" I cried out, and picked up my staff and repeatedly murmured, "Heal!" Green bubbles formed and popped in front of me. I cried out in desperation. "I won't ever forget our friendship…" I murmured, tears rolling down my cheeks._

_ (End Flashback)_

"What's wrong?" I heard the grass rustle as Josh sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. The metal of his armor felt cool against my skin. I managed to look up through my puffy red eyes.

"It's just that… My best friend died at Himes, after her training partner ditched her." I mumbled."I found her when she was on the point of death. I know that she will always watch over me, even now."

"Oh." Josh stayed silent for a while, but his arm never left my shoulder. It was kind of an awkward moment, but it was comforting at the same time. "Don't worry," he said after a while. "I'll never ditch you like he ditched your friend. They'll have to go through my dead body before scratching you." He smiled reassuringly.

"T-Thanks. So tonight it is?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Sure." Josh smiled. I smiled back, and we got up and set off towards the Forbidden Shrine together, hand in hand.

Screeches filled the air. I puffed a little before raising my staff again. Tracing an ancient symbol before yelling, "Genesis!" I sent beams of powerful holy energy through the air towards the Dreamy Ghosts. More screeches, before they disappeared and all that remained was their kimonos.

This was the sixth month since we started training together. It was wonderful, to just be by his side. He was always kind, but he fought just as ferociously. It was a while back when I realized that I might have had feelings for him.

"Nice shot!" Josh yelled to me. He was single-handedly fending off the creatures, which disappeared as quickly as they came.

"Thanks!" I called back. I took a gulp of my elixir."I'm almost out of pots, we'll have to head back!" I called to him.

"Okay!" He jogged over to me and took me by the hand."Let's go."

I nodded, and together we headed back to Zipangu. We passed the Cherry Blossom trees, and as usual I always requested if we could stay for a little while.

"Do you know the song 'Letting Go'?" I found myself asking as I sat down on the cool grass.

"I've heard it a few times, why?" Josh sat down too, and looked me in the eyes.

I smiled, and began to sing. My voice swept through the silent forest as if lulling the forest to sleep.

_Gotta get myself together_

_Tryna' make it through tonight_

_Tell myself that we were never broken_

_There were times I thought I might be_

_Trying to make things right_

_But you walked away and opened up my eyes_

_Now I see that I've been wasting time_

_I had a picture of us painted in my mind_

_Now it's fading and then there's nothing left to do.._

_Letting go; Coz' I know_

_You were only half-way there_

_Even though; We were close_

_I was holding on just long enough to know_

_I should be letting go_

_I should be letting go_

I had finished the first chorus of the song when I saw Josh shift uncomfortably. "Anything on your mind?" I asked him.

"Um… Yeah. I have something to say.." Josh looked nervous, as if he was expecting something bad.

"Ah…. I have something to say too," I replied, fingering one of my stray brown locks."You first."

Josh smiled, before it fell back to the anxious face. "Well, remember that day when I said that I was going to restock on potions, but never came back with any?" he started, looking deeply into my eyes; emerald against sapphire, land against water.

"Yeah…. That was a weird day," I answered.

"Well, I was actually getting this." Josh took out a small velvet box. I looked at him in surprise. He went on one knee, and opening the box slowly and deliberately, he said, "Krystal Ly, I had loved you from the first glance. Whoever didn't believe in the saying of 'Love at first sight' would be wrong, because my undying love for you would prove that. Will you marry me?"

My mask of shock melted into happiness. Fighting back the tears of joy, I whispered, "Yes." He opened the box fully, and there, on a small pillow of dark purple velvet, was a shining silver ring, with a single sapphire and emerald entwined with swirls of platinum and gold. He took it out, and with one hand holding mine, he slipped it onto my third finger. And then, we had our first kiss. The night was cold and I was in my thin Blue Bazura, which was totally convenient since it was still pretty chilly at night, even though it was spring. But that didn't matter, nothing mattered, other than the fact that the person I had loved from our first meeting had just told me that he loved me too, his words repelling the sense of dread from the place known as reality.

The moment we kissed, the blossom petals started raining. It was a beautiful sight, the light pink petals against the full moon. In the distance I saw something glimmer. Out of nowhere, snow started to fall down. They entwined with the flower petals, and together they spiraled down, together forever.

"Haru no Seppen…" I whispered, my eyes glittering at the beautiful sight. Josh nodded beside me.

"Want to dance?" he asked, standing up.

"There's no music, silly!" I said, laughing. But I nodded, and he lifted me up. He signaled something, and then, as we started dancing, I heard sweet music. I looked around, confused. But then, I saw them. A dozen of people, men and women, all playing different songs on different string instruments, but they all went in harmony. That was when the realization hit me. It was music from Ellinia, the city of the Fairies! The place I had become a magician in. It felt so special. We twirled around for a bit, none of us being fantastic dancers, and embraced the magical moment. I laid my head on his shoulder, and whispered, "This is the best day of my life." I then closed my eyes, and we rocked side to side. The petals and snow were still raining down on us, but now the moon had peeked out of the clouds, and illuminated the clearing with a soft pale glow.

"Josh! Are you okay?" I asked worriedly, as I rushed to his side and casting heal.

"Yeah, thanks for that," Josh replied after the green bubble faded, giving me a confident smile. I nodded.

I traced the ancient symbol again, and I felt the adrenaline rush through my veins as I yelled,"Genesis!" beams of light flooded through, and screeches from the Dreamy Ghosts filled the air. I beamed at Josh, who smiled back, until his smile turned to a face of horror."Watch out!" he yelled, raising his Fairfrozen again."Behind you!"

I spun around, and saw what he was trying to warn me about. It was Tengu, the legendary spirit guardian of the Forbidden Shrine. It had a bright crimson face stretched into a malicious grin, as if it was always embarrassed. White tufts of fur sprouted at the crown of his head. His body was slightly smaller than his head, and I wondered how it supported his huge head. I leapt back, holding my elemental staff 1.

"Don't come any closer!" I hissed, pointing a Holy Arrow at it.

_You dare trespass on my property, and challenge me?_ Its once-gleeful face changed to a face of anger. _No-one gets away with _that_…_ It raised its claw-like hand, and hissed, or rather, squawked something indecipherable. A rare moment passed, and I was about to let go of the arrow when I felt a burning sensation spread across my body. I cried in pain, and dropped my staff, clutching my sides. I screamed as my soul was being ripped from my body. I heard a 'thud' as my body hit the floor. I was fully aware, having read most of the bishop encyclopedias in Grendel's library, that a soul perishes after it is separated with its material body if it isn't enforced immediately. I seemed to be floating in the air, before everything started to fade, the forests, the moon, and a seemingly imaginary tear fell down as I heard Josh cry out my name.

I whispered, "I love you," one last time before everything went black.

**A/N: The end! I hope you liked it! R&R!**

*Himes is Japanese for princess, which is a term used to describe Dreamy Ghosts.

Haru no Seppen means Spring Snowflake in Japanese.


End file.
